A protected area is defined as an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal and effective means. (Legal or effective means refer to the objectives of the Act under which an area is designated and implies security of tenure, generally revoked only by a state or national parliamentary process; or areas covered by a legally adopted plan of management.)

Forest is land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of more than 10 per cent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use but does include areas under reforestation that have not yet reached, but are expected to reach, a canopy cover of 10 per cent and a tree height of 5 metres. It also includes temporarily unstocked areas, resulting from human intervention or natural causes, which are expected to regenerate.

Protected forest area as a percentage of total land area is the area of protected forest as a share of total land area, where land area is the total country area excluding the area of inland water bodies (major rivers, lakes and water reservoirs).